Scary business

This is scary. I have been reading and re-reading your comments on the blogs about Arimidex (anastrozole), Femara (letrozole) and tamoxifen (Nolvadex). We all seem to be suffering. While on Tamoxifen for two years, I had no real adverse side effects that affected me day to day. I didn’t even really experience weight gain. On Arimidex, I have joint pain, and stiffness, and a real battle with weight beyond what I was facing normally.

This has been a real benefit to me; having you share your experiences with the drugs. I may not have realized right away that it was the Arimidex that was affecting me. I even found out that a persistent cough that I have may be due to Arimidex. Initially, when I was plagued with this cough that would wake me up, one of those annoying dry coughs, I was fearful it signaled you know what. My oncologist and doctor put me through the usual X-rays and texts to rule out the usual suspects. I have since seen a side effects of Arimidex sheet that indicates “you may cough more than usual.” That can’t be good.

I intend to really deal with this on my next visit to the oncologist. In fact, I may not wait the usual three months for the visit. I think tamoxifen may be the proven treatment for me. I also found out however, that tamoxifen for more than five years can prove to be useless as cells mutate. Also not good.

I applaud all of you that have made efforts to find a better treatment option for yourself. There are even those of you who have decided not to continue on anything, but have enlisted other health regimes.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kathy-Ellen Kups, RN

Kathy-Ellen is a Registered Nurse living in Michigan. In 2003, Kathy-Ellen was diagnosed with stage three breast cancer. She was cancer-free from April 2004 until December of 2013 when it was discovered that...read more